Naruto: The Next Tsuchikage
by RemusFawkes
Summary: Kidnapped and sold away right after the sealing, Naruto Uzumaki ends up being raised in Iwagakure. How will the ninja world react to this drastic change? Can Naruto still rise to the top and become the next Tsuchikage even though his worst competitor is none other than his own friend and teammate Kurotsuchi?
1. Deal of Destiny

**Naruto: The Next Tsuchikage**

Disclaimer: I don't own the world of Naruto or any of these characters. I am simply a huge fan and not making any money with this writing. Should there be similarities to other fanfictions it is definitely not on purpose. With the amount of fanfics already created basically everything had been tried out at least once. Please enjoy the beginning of my very first Naruto story.

 **Chapter 1 – Deal of Destiny**

Hiruzen Sarutobi sighted in frustration. He had not expected to sit behind this particular desk ever again. But as people tend to say, drastic events call for drastic measures. It seemed to hold true.

It had been a week since the attack of the Nine-Tailed Fox which decimated large parts of the village and killed countless shinobi. His successor Minato Namikaze, Yondaime Hokage of the Hidden Leaf and famed worldwide as the Yellow Flash, was forced to sacrifice his own life in order to stop the rampaging Bijuu from erasing them completely.

As the Tailed Beasts were literally giant charka monsters and therefore practically unkillable, it was a common tradition in the shinobi world to seal them into young children, who could then learn to harness their powers and become indispensable assets for their village.

Of course these particular children, better known as Jinchūriki, were forced to live a pretty rough life as many people were too blind to see the difference between a jailor and the monster itself. Generally viewed as reincarnations of the Bijuu sealed inside them, they were feared and hated by society for something outside their control. It was a sad but unavoidable part of ninja history.

As no loving parent would willingly allow his or her child to be turned into a Jinchūriki, mostly orphans were used for the sealing process. Additionally, it was also very common for them to have close ties to the respectable village leader in order to ensure their loyalty.

Minato Namikaze was elected as Forth Hokage because of his amazing skills and beliefs. He was a man of honour and therefore wouldn't dare asking another parent to make a sacrifice he himself wasn't willing to make. That's why he chose his very own newborn son Naruto as new vessel for the Nine-Tailed Fox.

With assistance of his wife Kushina Minato performed the suicidal Reaper Death Seal to trap the Kyuubi inside the infant body of their son, creating the newest Jinchūriki who would help to keep the balance between the five great villages stable. Sadly, both of them had to forfeit their life in the process.

Minato was forced to give up his soul to the Reaper. It was the necessary payment for executing this particular sealing technique. It doesn't take a genius to figure out that the Jutsu was listed as forbidden for that very reason and should only ever be used as last resort.

Kushina on the other hand was the previous host of the Nine-Tails. While it was kept secret from the general public, Hiruzen knew that the Beast must have taken advantage of her weakened state during childbirth to break free and attack. And while Kushina managed to help her husband in resealing the Fox, she herself was already doomed at that point. No Jinchūriki could survive the extraction of their Bijuu, at least not for very long. Even Kushina Uzumaki with her outstanding willpower and life force was no exception.

It was all thanks to their sacrifice Konohagakure withstood the enraged attack of the Kyuubi. But there was still one mayor problem the village encountered after the sealing - Naruto was gone!

As Hiruzen and the other ninjas arrived at the clearing, they had only found the lifeless bodies of both Minato and Kushina. However, their son and new holder of the Nine-Tails was missing. For the first time since the creation of the Hidden Villages more than fifty years ago Konohagakure had lost control over the strongest Bijuu.

The immediate search of the surroundings led to no satisfying results. The only piece of vital information that they could find were a few small traces that confirmed some foreign shinobi had come in first and took the boy away.

Hiruzen sent his best ANBU squad after the kidnapper, but they soon returned empty handed. It seemed that whoever snatched Naruto was highly skilled as he or she had used extremely good faints to cover up the escape route. Even Jiraiya of the Legendary Sannin eventually came to a dead end in the middle of Fire Country in his personal attempt to track down the kidnapper.

With the death of countless powerful ninja including the Yondaime Hokage himself as well as the abduction of their only Jinchūriki, Konoha was currently facing the probably biggest crises ever.

Obviously the people needed a strong and reliable hand to successfully guide them through this peril. And that was the reason why Hiruzen Sarutobi was now back in charge as Hokage of the Hidden Leaf. Whether he liked it or not.

The door to his office cracked open, snapping him out of the little memory trip. Looking up he saw his secretary carefully lurking her head in.

"Hokage-sama, the Council members have arrived to discuss the recent development with you."

Of course. Meeting time. That was already the third time this week that the trio of advisors had called for an update even though it was pretty obvious there was nothing new he could present to them. It started to get really annoying.

Taking a long puff from his pipe, Hiruzen mentally prepared himself for what was to come. "Thank you, please send them in" he eventually replied in his usual calm and collected voice.

Just a second later the door opened fully and three equally old people marched into the office.

The first one was a grey-haired man with bread and glasses. He was easily the tallest out of the trio and had a particular strong jaw-line. His name was Homura Mitokado.

Next was a shorter woman who had her hair pulled back in a twin bun, locked by a traditional hair pin with pearls on one side and tassels on the other. She wore a simple kimono paired with a jacket and sash. Her name was Koharu Utatane.

The last person was by far the most interesting. At first glance one could see a pretty short and frail man walking with a cane. He had black hair, conspicuous bandages over his right eye as well as an x-shaped scar on his chin. His body was covered up from the feet to his shoulders by a dark robe. The man really didn't look very impressive, but was a true evil mastermind when it came down to eliminating potential threats for the village. His name was Danzō Shimura, also known under the fitting nickname _Shinobi no Yami_.

"Please take a seat, I hope you had a good day so far" Hiruzen began in his friendly grandfather like attire, gesturing towards the chairs that were obviously placed in front of his desk in advance.

"Not really…" Homura replied coldly. "I was hoping that you could maybe cheer us up."

"Is there any particular problem I could help you with?" the Hokage inquired, not allowing the mood to drop down so quickly.

"I think that all these matters would be best discussed in private" Koharu cut in. "We are here to discuss the future of our village."

Danzō remained silent, simply glaring at the Third Hokage with his one visible eye. He hated to waste his time in meetings that prove themselves pointless, but was schooled enough to not let it show on the outside. Hopefully Jiraiya had found some new hints that he could use for his own schemes. And maybe even discovered some dirt on the Uchiha clan. But chances for that were very slim.

"All right, as you seem quite impatient, let us hop into this Council meeting and get it over with quickly." With that being said Hiruzen flashed through several hand seals and activating the multi layered security and privacy sealing arrays in his office to make sure everything that was said and done from here on out would never leave this room. It was the standard procedure as most of the stuff usually discussed between them was top secret information.

The four veteran ninja waited a few moments for the seals to take full effect and then waited a bit more for the Hokage to take the word. It was obvious to all of them what their first topic was meant to be. The one with the upmost importance – the whereabouts of Naruto Uzumaki.

"So you are expecting me now to tell you every little piece of new information we obtained about who took Naruto away, where he is right now and how we can him back." He didn´t wait for any confirmation, knowing he would at most receive two barely visible nods as well as another glare from Danzō, and continued quickly.

"Well, sadly I have to inform you that we still have no clue about any of that. Although it is safe to assume that the boy is no longer inside the borders of Fire Country as we would have found at least some new trace otherwise."

The temperature in the office seemed to instantly drop by several degrees.

"What about our allies?" Koharu inquired. "Have ANBU teams check them from head to toes. Someone has to know something about where the boy is."

"We need the Kyuubi in our village no matter what" Homura agreed. "Order the infiltration of Iwa and Kumo if there is no other way. They are most likely to condemn to kidnapping."

"Do you think I have not yet taken this into consideration?" Hiruzen shot back. "We cannot spare any more of our forces right now. Our only real hope is Jiraiya and his spy network. Naruto is his godson so you can be sure that he is turning around every single stone as we speak."

"We need to get the boy back to Konoha" Homura insisted. "The balance between the five great Hidden Villages could shatter once word gets out that we are no longer in the possession of the Nine-Tails. It would throw us into yet another war, and this time we may not be able to come out on top. There is still more than enough hatred spread against us, especially in Iwagakure."

"We cannot continue to search blindly for Naruto" Hiruzen countered. "That would appear very suspicious. In moments like this we need to keep a certain number of forces near the village so that we are able to defend ourselves against surprise attacks. Leaving Konoha vulnerable, even if only for a short time, is not an option."

"So what are we going to do?" Koharu asked challenging. "The clan heads demand a plan of action, Hiruzen. We have stalled for long enough, we have to present them with at least some sort of progression."

"I have already done everything I could. Minato killed the Kyuubi at the expense of his own life which forced me to take over the position of Hokage again until we can agree on a suitable successor. This cover story helps to calm the civilians down quickly and also keeps them from asking any troublesome questions. We will use it as official version which shall be taught to all children in the academy so that we can avoid any contradictions."

Hiruzen paused for a moment to puff his pipe. None of Council members dared to speak up.

"The truth is obviously classified as an S-Ranked secret that only jōnin, ANBU and clan heads have the right to know about. As Minato kept his marriage to Kushina secret their son officially doesn't exist and we will name Naruto an orphan once we managed to take him back. Jiraiya as his godfather will not rest until he has found the boy. You are all well aware of how incredible his spy network is so I hope we can agree that it is in our best interest to let Jiraiya handle the search from here on out. The main focus for us must be to rebuild our forces as fast and good as we can. Konoha is not allowed to show any weakness no matter what."

"I took a closer look into our academy program" Koharu started. "If we tone down the difficulty of the examination we could easily double the amount of graduates per year. The average skill level may temporary go down, but more real life experience for our Genin combined with the sheer increase in numbers would allow us to restock our military forces quite efficiently."

"The Clan Heads won´t be happy once they find out about a dropping standard in our academy" Homura warned. "Through the increase of graduating children from civilian families the proud clan children would generally look less impressive which will not bode well with them."

"There is no way around that" Koharu answered seriously. "It is for the best of the village."

"I have to agree in that point" the Hokage added in honestly. "Of course we have to make sure to keep a certain standard to avoid unnecessary endangerment of our Genin, but at the moment this is our best option available to quickly recover from the losses we suffered. I am sure the clan heads will accept it, at least for a limited period of time."

"Speaking of troublesome clan heads" Danzō entered the conversation for the first time. "You are all avoiding the main problem. How exactly are we going to handle the Uchiha clan? I cannot be the only one here who is concerned about the fact that they were actually responsible for the Kyuubi attacking our village."

"We went over this already" Hiruzen cut in immediately. "I won't allow you to suspect a highly respected clan of treason without sufficient evidence. The last thing we need right now is seeding distrust inside our own forces."

But the Shinobi no Yami was far from done. This was not going to end pretty.

"A powerful enough Sharingan is quite capable of fully controlling the Nine-Tailed Fox. Madara Uchiha is a prime example. He was using the beast as weapon in his legendary fight against the First Hokage. I am also well aware that the Uchiha Elders are getting more and more annoyed as there has not been a single Hokage until now who has hailed from their clan. So tell me Hiruzen, is there any reason why I should _not_ suspect them to be the culprits behind said attack?"

"I have complete trust in the Uchiha clan. They are a vital part of our military force."

"Is that so? Then why do I know for a fact that Fugaku and Mikoto Uchiha were not in their clan compound like they should have been as the attack took place?" Danzō countered.

Homura and Koharu both paled as the pressure was building up more and more. They could practically see the sparks flying between the two old rivals as their argument continued on.

"Several other clan heads were not in their compounds either" Hiruzen threw in swiftly. "That in itself is no evidence of guilt whatsoever."

"Mikoto was Kushina´s best friend and therefore well aware that she would be giving birth on that day. It is safe to assume that she told her husband Fugaku about it too. So they both had the knowledge and resources at their disposal to pull that attack off."

"Do I have to remind you that Minato and Kushina were using a secret safe house which offered them the best possible protection? Not even I knew the exact location. It seems to me as if you are severely underestimating the effort both of them went through to make sure nothing could go wrong while the seal was in a weakened state."

"And yet the Kyuubi still managed to break free" Danzō sneered viciously.

"Enough!" The spike of chakra was so powerful that Homura and Koharu were sweating bullets and even their bandaged college could now no longer ignore the weight pressing down onto his shoulders. Hiruzen might no longer be in his prime, but he was still known and respected across the entire world as _The Professor_ and _God of Shinobi_. Nobody wanted to be on the receiving end when he snapped for real. Not even Danzō.

"The Uchiha are not guilty. This is my final word. Do not push me any further, you will not like the results. Have I make myself clear?"

Not taking any chances this time the Third Hokage increased the intensity of his aura until his old rival finally gave in. "I withdraw my accusations…" Danzō somehow pressed out. _"… for now"_ he silently added in his mind as the pressure slowly started to vanish. He was many things, but not stupid enough to push this matter any further at such a critical moment.

Koharu and Homura finally released the breath both of them were holding in. This was a close call. While the Hokage was a very kind soul, he could also be incredible terrifying when it was required from him. As his former teammates they knew that fact all too well.

Taking deep puffs from his pipe, Hiruzen slowly but surely calmed himself down. Silence filled the office once more as everyone recovered from the sudden display of power. Eventually he felt they were ready to continue with this meeting the normal way.

"So can we move on? It is not like I can just sit here and talk with you the whole day, last time I checked missions don't assign themselves to our shinobi."

"I agree, we still have other things to discuss" Koharu tried to break the ice, earning a swift nod from Homura.

Danzō simply fell back into silence, trying to conceal his raging emotions. This had not gone as planned, but he knew time would eventually prove him right. The Uchiha were bound to screw up again and then he would get them for sure.

"Let us move on" Hiruzen began as he once more took control over the conversation. "The next topic I have on my list is the hospital. Frankly, I am disappointed in how long it currently takes to treat minor wounds. Since Tsunade left us the standards of our medical ninja have noticeable dropped. We have to do something about this."

And like that the meeting of the Konoha Council was continuing on for another full hour.

0 – 0 – 0

As Ōnoki entered the arranged meeting spot inside one of the secluded caves at the outskirts of Earth Country, he was surprised that his newest negotiation partner was already there. It seemed that this deal might be more interesting than he first thought. But you could never know. He was dealing with an S-Rank missing-nin right now. First rule: Never trust them – never!

Ōnoki might appear like a very short and old man on the outside, but he held great power and wisdom as the Third Tsuchikage of Iwagakure and was currently the only living user of the Kekkei Tōta Jinton. His most prominent facial features were the triangular beard, moustache and his big red nose. He wore a long green coat with yellow outlines and red collar, a typical outfit for high-ranked Iwagakure shinobi. The top of his head was completely bold, but that didn't mean anything as Ōnoki was quite famous in the ninja world for his stubbornness.

The other man across the stone table was physically the complete opposite of him. Very tall, long dark hair, a black mask covering the lower half of his face. Shirtless so that his quite muscular built and countless stiches all over his torso were on full display. And finally green ruffed up pants to round it out.

Ōnoki was looking suspicious at the well-known missing-nin on the opposite side of the table. He was confident that he could take him on in battle should anything go wrong, but first he needed to loot out why exactly he was asked to come here. Just to be make sure he didn't miss out on a potential benefit for Iwagakure.

"I never thought that you out of all people would make an offer to my village… Kakuzu…"

"I am glad that you accepted this meeting. I promise you will not regret it." His voice was blank, not betraying any sort of emotion. If that man even had any in the first.

"Let's cut straight to the case, shall we? I have more important things to do than wasting my time with worthless negotiations. What exactly do you have in store for me and how could it help out my village?"

"Even after all these years you have not changed, Ōnoki. Always hard as a rock, completely focused on the gain for Iwagakure and nothing else."

"I am the Tsuchikage after all" Ōnoki replied proudly. "And you are one to talk. At least I care about my people, for you the whole world revolves solely around money."

"The whole world?" Kakuzu chuckled. "Are you kidding? Even hell is run by money. And that is precisely why I am here for. You see, I have recently acquired an item that would be of great use for every single one of the Hidden Villages and I want to find out the correct prize."

"What could you possibly possess that holds such immense value?" Ōnoki snorted.

Pulling out a commonly used sealing scroll Kakuzu carefully rolled it out on the table between them. He made sure to make all of his movements very obvious so that the Tsuchikage was not more suspicious of him than it needed to be. There was too much money at stake for him.

After fully opening the scroll, Kakuzu slammed his hand down onto the centre and channelled charka into it to reverse-summon the item he was talking about. A large puff of smoke later there was a third person in the room. An infant with blond hair and whisker marks was now sleeping peacefully in the middle of the table.

"A baby?" Ōnoki grunted, quickly rising to anger. "Seriously? Is that some sort of prank?"

"Not at all" Kakuzu replied in his stern voice. "And once you learn about his heritage you will be quick to change your mind about the child."

"Spill the beans, my patience is running low."

"I actually found this child roughly a week ago in the outskirts of Konohagakure."

"A week ago?" repeated Ōnoki with a first small spark of interest flaring up in his voice. If his information was correct, the Kyuubi had attacked Konoha out of a sudden right around that time. If this child would turn out to be an orphan from one of their famous clans and inherited their Kekkei Genkai, then he was indeed extremely valuable.

"I saw the sealing process with my own eyes" Kakuzu started to explain. "I was bounty hunting in the surrounding area as the Kyuubi appeared out of thin air and decimated most of the village. The Forth Hokage used a very advanced Fuinjutsu to seal said Bijuu into his newborn son, sacrificing his own flesh and blood to save Konoha. Additionally, his wife died too in the process leaving this child without any parents at all. I was lucky enough to swoop in and take the boy away before any other Konoha ninja could reach the spot and interfere."

Ōnoki´s eyes widened more and more as he took in the story. "So this kid really is…?"

"Indeed…" Kakuzu whispered as the particular scene was replaying itself in his mind once more.

 _ **Flashback no Jutsu**_

 _Staring through the woods he could clearly watch the massive body of the fearsome Nine-Tailed Fox rapidly shrinking as it was sealing into a small crying baby._

 _The two adults in front of the infant were impaled by one of the massive claws from the beast. It was pretty obvious that neither of them would survive much longer after the sealing was done._

 _The man who currently performed the fearsome yet suicidal Reaper Death Seal upon the Kyuubi was none other than the Yondaime Hokage himself. Kakuzu would recognize that particular spiky blonde hair everywhere. Not many shinobi in history have archived a "Flee on Sight" Warning in the Bingo Book after all. Minato was a genius and widely regarded as the fastest ninja alive, besting even the Raikage in speed. But judging the current situation, he would lose that title in just a few moments as his soul was about to be consumed by the Reaper._

 _The female by his side was much more interesting. That flaming red hair was a typical trait of the famous Uzumaki clan. Their members were all blessed with an incredible strong life force paired with stupidly high charka reserves. But given the fact said clan was nearly extinct by now, there were not many options as to who this woman could actually be. If he had to take a guess, he would bet on "The Red Death" Kushina Uzumaki._

 _But the person who interested Kakuzu the most was actually the crying infant who currently got a massive Tailed Beast shoved into his stomach. Jinchūriki were the main power source of the five great Hidden Villages and many leaders would go through immense efforts to obtain one of them. And if even one of these two legendary ninjas present was somehow related to that baby, other villages would go through hell and back to get their hands on such a promising child._

 _Usually Kakuzu was not interested in any of this stuff as the only thing that really mattered in his world was money. But these circumstances presented to him were just too good. He could not sense any other ninjas who could stop him from taking this new Jinchūriki with him and sell him on the black market for a small fortune. There was no way Kakuzu would let such a chance go to waste._

 _The sealing was now complete. The Kyuubi had fully disappeared inside the infant, dropping the stabbed and near-lifeless bodies of Minato and Kushina onto the ground. Time for him to strike._

 _Jumping out of his hiding place, Kakuzu landed in the clearing right next to the fallen Yellow Flash, taking a close up look at his newest target. The features he observed make his smile grew even more. He really hit the Jackpot._

 _This specific shade of blonde hair paired with blue eyes made it quite obvious that this boy was indeed the son on the Yondaime Hokage. It made sense of course. Most Jinchūriki had some sort of connection to the village leaders to ensure their loyalty. He could not really explain the three whisker marks on each cheek of the boy, but that didn't really matter. Style points at best._

 _Just how much would Iwagakure be willing to pay him for delivering the son of the Yellow Flash to them? The offspring of Minato Namikaze who had slaughtered an entire platoon of Iwa shinobi in the third Great Ninja War, completely turning the tides of the battle by himself. This was just too brilliant._

" _Naruto-koi..."_

 _Did that Uzumaki woman just talk? Did she really had such an enormous life force to still be conscious after receiving such a fatal blow from the Kyuubi? Scary as hell._

 _A quick look confirmed that she had her eyes closed and had no idea that he was even there. That was if she hadn't already died the moment after exhaling her last word._

 _But that one word was giving him more information than he had expected. The baby´s name was obviously Naruto and the added "-koi" made it pretty clear that the Red Death was his mother. So this infant was indeed the son of both these famous ninjas who just had sacrificed themselves for the sake of Konoha._

 _The payment Kakuzu was going up receive for selling this boy seemed to rise higher and higher by the minute. What there anything else that made him even more special? Did it really matter?_

 _Without another thought, the missing-nin picked the infant up from the ground. That boy was already worth way too much. This would become his greatest selling ever._

 _His mood had not been the best after he had chased his last target through the forest surrounding Konoha endlessly before finally being able to take him out. But it seemed his luck had turned around. Without that annoying chase he definitely would not have gotten close enough to witness the sealing process and take full advantage of it._

 _By now Kakuzu was able to sense the first bunch of incoming Konoha ninja. If he wasted any more time, he would not be able to get away without being detected. He had made his decision, there was room for any hesitation._

 _With one final look towards the deceased Yondaime Hokage Kakuzu tightened his hold onto the baby and took off at top speed into the woods._

 _He had absolutely no idea just how much his actions would affect the future. His mind was solely focused on the waste amount of money he could get for Naruto when he played his cards right. And Kakuzu always played his cards right._

 _ **Flashback no Jutsu Kai**_

His eyes were practically shining as the missing-nin looked at the sleeping infant on the table. He had the Tsuchikage right where he wanted him. Time to drive the point home.

"This little boy is the newest Jinchūriki of the Nine-Tailed Fox. His parents are the Yondaime Hokage Minato Namikaze as well as one of the last remaining members of the once so feared seal masters from Uzushiogakure, Kushina Uzumaki. With proper training he could become one of the strongest shinobi in history. What do you have to say about that?"

"How much?"

"So you _do_ want to buy him… Thought so."

"How much?" Ōnoki repeated impatient. Kakuzu only grinned even more sinister. His plan had worked out perfectly. Now it was time to collect the money.

"I already have a number in my head. But I don't want to come off short. Why don't you tell me how much you are willing to pay first?"

While his face was stone-cold on the outside, the Tsuchikage could not stop smiling in his mind. This offer was just too good to be true and would finally give his village the edge over all the others. He simply had to handle this negotiation right. He would not bankrupt his own village over one Jinchūriki, but he knew that he had to get this deal done no matter what.

Destiny was without a doubt smiling upon him and Iwagakure right now. This day would change history. The day when Naruto Uzumaki was handed over to the Third Tsuchikage.

 _ **To be continued**_

 **What do you think of this setup? Feel free to let me know in a review, it helps me improve my writing and motivates quite a lot.**

 **Kekkei Genkai Voting:** **  
Jinton/Dust, Mokuton/Wood, Shakuton/Scorch, Sharingan/Uchiha, Shikotsumyaku/Bone**

 **Naruto will possess a Kekkei Genkai in this story and I am giving all of you the chance to decide on which one out of the five listed above it should be. Vote for your favourite and I may be including more polls like that as the story goes on.**

 **PS: Legacy of Voldemort  
** **For all Fans of Harry Potter, I will definitely continue my story once I have reconsidered which route I really want to take it. Expect to see a lot more from me during this year.**


	2. Academy Kick Off

**Naruto: The Next Tsuchikage**

Disclaimer: I still don't own the Naruto Universe. Any similarities to other fanfictions are not on purpose. Please enjoy the second chapter of my first Naruto story.

 **Review Reply: I honestly did not expect so many in-debt reviews, glad that you like my story so far. Also let me answer a few points that were already brought up, I apologize in advance that I am not including every single reviewer due to time and space. My thank goes out to everyone and maybe next time it is your turn.**

 _ **bluryface2412**_ **:** Cold setup indeed. Just wait until the next meeting of the Konoha Council ;)

 _ **SnazzyJon**_ **:** Of course Kakuzu will be recruited by the Akatsuki at some point, there is just too much conflict potential to simply miss out on that one.

 _ **The Sith'ari**_ **:** It could turn into a Naruto x Kurotsuchi pairing, you will get the chance to vote as soon as all options have been properly introduced. Check the last reply for more details.

 _ **Darth Void Sage of the Force**_ **:** True, Jinton is a Kekkei Tōta and honestly I was just too lazy to put it separate from the rest. Blame the Shikamaru in me.

 _ **LonelyDaoist**_ **:** This will definitely not turn into a Harem story, while there is nothing wrong with that, I just prefer that everyone should have his/her soulmate. You will get a chance to vote soon, the only fixed pairing is my personal favorite "Shikamari".

And now on with the show! _Transition no Jutsu!_

 **Chapter 2 – Academy Kick Off**

Iwagakure stood proudly as militaristic center in the Land of Earth. The rocky mountain ranges surrounding it provided a natural stronghold most of the other Hidden Villages simply couldn't match. As expected the infrastructure was mostly built out of that very same rock and stone by shaping it into various structures that were connected through bridges and roads. The tallest tower was obviously the Tsuchikage's residence and had a cone-shaped roof with the kanji for "Earth" on it.

Rays of sunlight were currently sparkling over the mountain tops, softly illuminating the streets filled with countless people of varying age and professions. The numerous shops welcomed in their first costumers, groups of ninja were already jumping from roof to roof or watched stealthily over the village from certain hiding spots and several civilian families could be seen either taking their children to the park or enjoying a healthy breakfast.

It was just another typical morning in the Hidden Stone Village – or to be more precise, it would have been if it weren't for…

"NARUTO-BAKA! HOW DARE YOU!"

The enraged feminine scream shattered through the comfortable atmosphere, forcing basically everyone awake who was not fully up yet at this point. Ninjas and civilians alike shuddered and looked around what could have possibly caused this uproar. Quickly the usual whispers broke out among the shop owners and their current costumers.

"Naruto… Isn't that the Namikaze-brat? I wonder what he did this time…"

"Our ANBU agents should really have a closer look at the boy. It is getting out of control."

"We should have crucified him the moment his ass was dropped down into this village."

"Agreed, just what was Tsuchikage-sama smoking as he allowed _his_ child out of all to live here?"

"Shut up at once, or are you idiots really so desperate to get executed for treason?"

"Have you already forgotten what happened to the last fool who openly attacked the boy?"

"Can you blame him? That cursed Yellow Flash killed both of his brothers during the last war."

"Yeah, and it doesn't help that the brat has to look exactly like his bastard of a father…"

"Are you done? There is a ANBU squad right over there in case you haven't noticed yet."

"Why are they even here? Shouldn't they track down that little monster right now?"

"Come on, don't be so harsh. He is a little kid; he is simply trying to have some fun."

"You can only speak like that because you have never been targeted yourself."

"His pranks may be annoying, but up to now he had never seriously hurt anyone."

"Still, I would much rather enjoy not having to watch my back all the time…"

Suddenly a six-year old boy with spiky blonde hair bolted out of a side alley onto the main street. He had a giant grin plastered all over his face and not slowed down one bit as he maneuvered himself through the crowd of people with evasive skills and speed that would not be too out of place for a genin fresh out of the Academy.

Everyone knew the infamous prankster by now. If you tried to seriously hurt him, you would get into big trouble with the Third Tsuchikage. And if you tried to outright ignore him, chances were he would make you regret it pretty soon. Praised by one half for his originality and potential, hated by the other for his childishness and heritage, Naruto kept the entire village on guard all day every day.

Just which insane deity thought it would be a good idea to bless a notorious little prankster with near unlimited amounts of energy and stamina? It will forever stay a mystery.

The blonde troublemaker with his three trademark whiskers on each cheek never slowed down or turned around. Running as fast as his legs would carry him, he obviously attempted to get as much distance between himself and his latest victim as possible. But this time luck wasn't on his side. As Naruto turned around a particular corner to take a shortcut on the way towards his usual hiding spot he collided face first with an outstretched fist and landed painfully on the ground.

"Got you! Time to pay up, you little shit!"

A cold shiver run down his spine as he looked up into what could only be described as the face of a true demon. If looks could kill, Naruto would already be three feet under the earth. Damn it! How did she manage to pin him down so quickly? He switched up his escape routes on a daily basis. There was no way she could have foreseen which path he would choose this time, right? This wasn´t supposed to happen and now he was in really deep trouble.

"Were you really stupid enough to think I would let you get away with this?"

The totally pissed off six-year old girl was towering over him like a predator. Her precious black hair was currently sporting a shrieking neon pink color. Naruto would have laughed out loudly at the result of his latest prank if he wasn't so busy fearing for his life right now.

"Look, Kuro-chan… I can explain…"

"Don't Kuro-chan me, you bastard! Do you have the slightest idea how troublesome it is to get that stuff out of my hair? This time you´ve really done it!"

"Well, if it makes you feel any better, I have plenty of black dye as well so you can…"

"AAARGH!"

Before Naruto had a chance to talk his way out this predicament, the girl punched him straight in the face with enough force to knock the poor little blonde out in the process. But the commotion was not over yet as a new voice quickly made itself known right behind the kids – and it was not a happy one.

"Kurotsuchi, what have I told about controlling your emotions?"

And with that it was suddenly her turn to pale in fear of the incoming doom. Very slowly and with shivers running down her spine Kurotsuchi turned around to face her quite annoyed father.

Kitsuchi was a very tall and brawny jōnin of Iwagakure. He had sharp black eyes and short dark-grey hair. Other outstanding features were his beard and bulbous nose. Kitsuchi wore the red-brown shinobi uniform of Iwa with a left sleeve and a right lapel. But while his appearance was without a doubt impressive, it was the anger and disappointment he radiated towards her that scared the little girl beyond anything else.

"Oh… Hi, Tou-san… What´s up…?" Kurotsuchi attempted an innocent grin but failed horribly.

"Care to explain what I just witnessed?" While phrased like a question, it was clearly an order.

"Well… You see…" she began nervously and reminded the amused bystanders an awful lot of how a particular blonde troublemaker has acted under her own wrath just a few moments ago.

"I thought we talked about this issue often enough by now."

Kurotsuchi had the decency to lower her head in shame, remembering all the lectures she had received over the past year. "I´m sorry, Tou-san… But Naruto-baka here… I mean, come on… Just look at my hair!"

"No excuses. Now hurry back home and ready yourself. Ninja Academy is starting today for the both of you in case you forgot."

"What?" Her natural pink eyes widened in shock. "No… No… No way! No freaking way! I am not going to the Academy like this! Look at me! Look at my hair! I would be a laughing stock from day one! You can´t make me! Not in a million years! I swear I will - "

"Kurotsuchi!"

Quickly shrinking under her father´s furious gaze she mumbled a hesitant "Sorry…" before pulling herself together and taking the first steps back to their apartment.

"Aren´t you forgetting something? Or more precise someone?"

Stopping in her tracks, she thought for a moment what he could mean before paling again.

"You cannot mean…"

"You knocked him out, you carry him home."

"That's not fair..." Kurotsuchi whined. "I always have to clean up his mess…" But another stern look from her father was more than enough to shut her down and so she begrudgingly grabbed the still unconscious blonde at his collar and pulled him along behind her on the ground.

Kitsuchi could only sigh. Just what exactly had he been thinking back then when Ōnoki talked him into raising and protecting that boy properly? If only things had been different. If only his wife hadn't died after giving birth to Kurotsuchi due to her being poisoned by an assassin? An assassin who had been tasked to eliminate their bloodline... Well, he couldn't change the past anyway. He could only try his best to ensure a better future for the next generation.

A small smile creeped onto his usual stern face as he watched a clearly annoyed Kurotsuchi increase her speed, dragging Naruto´s body behind her like a rag doll. Today both would make the first real steps towards their own ninja carriers by starting the Academy. And if these two were even half as talented as Kitsuchi expected, Iwagakure was looking towards a very promising future.

0 – 0 – 0

An excited six-year old Sasuke Uchiha stood in front of the Academy for his very first step to become a shinobi of Konohagakure. His spiky black hair held a blue tint and similar to his mother Mikoto he had bangs hanging on either side of his face, framing his cheeks and dark eyes. The Uchiha clan symbol was proudly displayed at the back of his grey shirt, just as someone would expect from the second son of the current clan head Fugaku.

Mikoto stood right next to him in a purple blouse paired with a red skirt and blue sandals. She still held the rank of jōnin, but had settled down many years ago to properly raise her children. It was somehow tradition in Konoha that the mother would accompany her child when it was time for the first year at the Academy.

"Good luck my dear, I am sure you will do just fine" she encouraged him.

"Of course, Mom, don't worry. You should hurry up or you miss out on Nii-san´s promotion."

"I still have more than enough time. So take care, study well and you will become just as great as Itachi. I have faith in you."

Sasuke´s eyes shined with even more excitement. "You really think I can do it?"

Itachi had always been the golden boy of their clan. He managed to graduate from the Academy at the age of seven after only a single year of studying while still archiving the second highest score in history – second only to the Yondaime Hokage himself. Hailed as a best shinobi of his generation, he continuously honed his skills in all ninja arts and was even allowed to attend clan meetings with their father Fugaku. After being held back from taking the Chūnin Exams several times because his teammates were not ready yet, Itachi was eventually granted the right to take the Exams on his own at the age of ten and passed right away. He even set a new record time for the second stage. And today, only one year later, the Hokage was about to promote him yet again and let him enter the ANBU. Itachi truly was the dictionary definition of a prodigy.

Sasuke had always looked up to his big brother, hoping that one day he could become the same sort of awesome shinobi. And starting today, he finally got the chance to prove himself and study in the Academy as well. He would do his very best, follow his brother´s footsteps and bring glory to the Uchiha clan. That was his mission.

"Show them all what it means to be an Uchiha. We know that you can do it." With that Mikoto bent down and kissed his forehead. "I will come after classes, pick you up and then we celebrate Itachi´s promotion together."

"You can count on me" Sasuke replied happily and after exchanging one last smile he run into the huge building in front of him. It would not suit an Uchiha to be late on the very first day.

The classroom reserved for the new students was already nicely filled with either overly excited or very nervous kids from his own age group. Sasuke recognized some familiar faces, mainly children from other major clans, and greeted each of them with a short nod. He quickly found himself a suitable place in the last row from where he could overlook the entire room and silently waited for their teacher to arrive. Sasuke was taught from the very start that a ninja needed to be patient and always in control of his emotions. Blending out the whole ruckus his upcoming classmates were creating was just another training exercise.

A few minutes later a brown-haired man in his mid-twenties entered the room and ordered them all to sit down. He wore the standard Konoha shinobi outfit complete with forehead protector, sandals, and flak jacket. His most unique feature was a long senbon needle that he kept in his mouth at all times. "Hello and welcome to your first step towards becoming capable ninja of our precious village Konohagakure. My name is Genma Shiranui and I will be your main instructor for the next couple of years here at the Academy."

The whole class hung on his lips, curious as to what they would learn on their first day. All of them had seen the crazy magical feats high-ranked ninja could pull off at least once and couldn't wait to perform these outstanding Jutsu themselves. Genma would have to crush a few dreams by letting these kids realize just how much time and effort it takes to master these skills. It was the same every single year with that bunch of upstarts.

"I will teach you all necessary skills to become a valuable asset to our village, from history over math and strategy to close combat and basic ninjutsu. If you have any questions or problems at any time during your studies, you can come to me after class and we will see what can be done about it. Today we will focus on the reason why you are all here in the first place. I will teach you about the ninja ranks and other important areas like our medical or interrogation department to give you a better understanding of how our village operates and what possibilities you have once you graduate."

Genma paused for a moment to let his little speech sink in before continuing on. "As we will be spending quite a lot of time together it is a good idea to get to know each other a little better before we actually dive into the first lecture. So please introduce yourselves with your name, likes and dislikes as well as your goal for the future in case you already have one."

He pointed towards the boy on the very left in the first row. "You start, and then we simply move along the current seating order. Feel free to share as much as you want. There is no need to talk about anything you feel uncomfortable about. Just give your classmates a nice first impression of yourself." A reassuring smile later the introduction session could begin.

It became obvious to Sasuke very quickly that more than half of his classmates actually came from civilian families and had no real idea yet of what they should do with their lives. He turned out most of their talking, only making sure to remember names and faces in case he was forced to work with them at some point in time. Once the third row was reached which included the first children from major clans' things started to become a lot more interesting.

The first person to really catch his attention was a shy girl with featureless white eyes, a clear indicator that she possessed the Byakugan and was therefore part of the famous Hyūga Clan. She had dark-blue hair with chin-length strands framing her innocent face. Sasuke has met her a few times, but was curious to find out a more about the girl. After all, she was the daughter of the current Hyūga clan head Hiashi, similar in status than himself.

"M-my name is Hinata Hyūga. I like eating cinnamon rolls b-but dislike seafood. My hobby is f-flower pressing. M-My goal for the future is to m-master the Gentle Fist and be respected by m-my Clan as a t-true kunoichi."

Sasuke could clearly see that this young girl was a very gentle soul. But it was also obvious that she had some issues with her confidence, no Hyūga member of the main branch should be this shy. Maybe he could talk to her later on to figure out what was bothering her.

Two seats further from Hinata waited the next child of an important clan head. With bushy brown hair, round sunglasses and his sea-green jacket with upturned collar the particular boy had a very mysterious appearance. Sasuke also noticed that this child was clearly the tallest student in the room. The young Uchiha was very curious to find out more about him.

"My name is Shino Aburame. I like bugs and dislike people who hurt them. My goal for the future is to discover and collect new bug types." By the time he was finished, the entire class glanced at him nervously, silently agreeing that this guy seemed kind of creepy. Genma on the other hand had some difficulty fighting down his laughter. Shino really was displaying the prime example of an Aburame.

In the fourth row the class suddenly came across a boy wearing a grey jacket with the Nara clan symbol on his back who had somehow managed to fall asleep during the whole introduction. Genma couldn't help but roll his eyes and threw a chalk piece in order to wake him up. Absently scratching his short black hair, the boy eventually looked up. "My turn already? Well, I am Shikamaru Nara and telling you anything else would be too troublesome." With that he simply laid his head back onto the table and went back to sleep while the rest of the students stared dumb folded at him. Sasuke faintly remembered a rumor that the laziness of a Nara was directly proportional to their intellect. If true, this kid had to be an absolute genius.

The chubby boy to Shikamaru´s left quickly took over to avoid any more awkward stares at his best friend than necessary. His most noticeable features were the spiky brown hair and swirl markings on both cheeks. "My name is Chōji Akimichi. I like meat and having a barbecue with my friends and family. I dislike all sorts of inedible food. My goal is to become a strong ninja and the next owner of our prized restaurant."

Continuing on, the next noteworthy classmates in Sasuke´s eyes were a pair of cute girls who sat right next to each other. The first one had green eyes, pink hair and used her bangs to cover up basically her entire forehead for some reason. Was she trying to hide something?

"Hi, my name is Sakura Haruno" the pinkette introduced herself cheerfully. "I like memorizing new information and playing trivia games. I dislike spicy food. My goal is to become a respected kunoichi and make my parents proud of me."

"And my name is Ino Yamanaka" the second girl took over right away. She sported light blue eyes and platinum blonde hair. "I like flowers but dislike bullies. Just like Sakura I want to become a great kunoichi so that my clan can be proud of me."

The following outstanding boy at the end of the row could be described pretty much in one word: wild! He had messy brown hair, black eyes and the red fang markings of the Inuzuka clan on both cheeks. But what stuck out more than anything about him was the adorable white-furred puppy sitting on top of his head. "My name is Kiba Inuzuka. I like playing and training with my partner Akamaru" – the puppy barked happily at this – "and dislike stuck-up prats. My current goal is to become a better tracker than my big sister Hana."

Sasuke inwardly smiled. While the large number of civilian classmates was not something he particularly liked, it was compensated through the extraordinary high amount of future clan heirs also being in his class. They would certainly provide good competition. Maybe his father will finally recognize him once he has proved to be the best of them all.

Eventually the last row was reached and it was his turn to make a good first impression. He was more than ready to take the stage.

"Hello, my name is Sasuke Uchiha. I like training, long walks and spending time with my big brother. I dislike sweet food. My goal for the future is to become as powerful if not more so than Itachi-nii-san, therefore making my parents and whole clan proud of me."

0 – 0 – 0

"… and now that you have all a basic understanding of what we will teach you here over the next seven years, let us start with the first lecture. Can anyone tell me what is meant by the Will of Stone?"

The tall chūnin instructor was met with many curious glances while the few clan children in class who knew the answer for sure raised their hands with varying amounts of confidence. But before he had the chance to decide who should answer the very first question the silence was broken by two knocks on the door.

"One moment please, it seems like we have an unannounced visitor."

Carefully opening the door, he came face to face with thin air. Glancing downwards he then saw two six-year old children looking nervously onto the floor – a girl with short black hair wearing a brown shirt and red trousers next to a boy with spiky blonde hair wearing a similar outfit, but his was in beige and grey colors.

"So my two missing students finally decided to show themselves" the instructor tried to break the ice, realizing how ashamed both of the kids were for obvious reasons. "Don't worry, you haven´t missed anything important, although I am afraid you will have to figure out the names of all your classmates by yourselves during lunch break."

"I am sorry we are late on our very first day…" the girl muttered quickly. "It is not my fault thought..."

"Yeah, we kind of had an accident in the morning and Kuro-chan refused to come here until the mess was cleaned up…" the boy elaborated, sheepishly scratching the back of his head as he tried to ignore the vengeful stare his childhood friend was throwing at him.

The teacher gave them both a warm smile before stepping aside so that they could actually enter the classroom. Gesturing that the duo should please wait a moment in front of the class he turned back to his now even more curious group of students.

"Well, looks like we are finally complete. Would you two please introduce yourselves shortly to the other classmates so that we can then continue on with our first lecture? There are two free seats leftover for you in the last row."

As she saw that all attention was now resting on them, the young girl quickly went back into her usual confident self. "All right, my name is Kurotsuchi and I am the granddaughter of none less than our Sandaime Tsuchikage" she announced proudly to the class. "I like training and spicy food, but dislike weaklings and pranksters." At that she shot a vicious glare towards Naruto who was simply standing there grinning nervously. "My goal for the future is to become the best kunoichi of our village and eventually supersede Jiji as the next Tsuchikage once he decides to go into retirement."

The chūnin instructor nearly fell over at that last statement. True, kids from major clans were often times more mature than the other students, but aiming straight for the Kage hat at the puny age of six was unheard of. Even from very rare prodigies. But he was quickly ripped out of his thoughts as the boy took over almost immediately, now bouncing on the floor with excitement as if he had to expel a sudden overflow of energy that his small body just couldn't handle yet.

"My turn! You can call me Naruto and I am the self-proclaimed prank master of Iwagakure. I like ramen and coming up with new innovative pranks. I dislike people who hurt others without valid reason and the three minutes you have to wait when making instant ramen. My goal for the future is to become an awesome shinobi and take over as the greatest Tsuchikage this village has ever seen. Dattebayo!"

Seriously? Both of them were already aiming for the Kage hat? That couldn't end well…

"No, you won´t!" Kurotsuchi bellowed as she moved right into his face with a murderous look in her pink eyes. The calm and confident appearance had shattered instantly to create enough space for her fury as she basically erupted like a volcano.

"That hat will belong to me! Just you wait and see!" Unbeknown to everyone, right as these set of words flew out of her mouth, a certain muscular rapper with dark sunglasses somewhere in the Land of Lightning was hit with newfound inspiration. But that is a story for another time.

"No way!" Naruto shot back, refusing to let her trash his dream so easily. "I will not back down just because you say so."

"Stubborn fool" Kurotsuchi spat angrily. "I will become the next Tsuchikage and that´s it."

Sparks were flying between their eyes as Naruto suddenly got an amazing idea. Leaning forward he casually flipped a strand of black hair behind her ear before whispering the following words with as much maliciousness as a six-year old could create out of thin air.

"We will see about that, Pinkie."

Kurotsuchi froze instantly, haunted by the cruel flashbacks of what that blonde bastard had done to her hair just a short time ago.

Naruto stepped back with a huge grin, quite satisfied with the counter he managed to come up. It took a few moments until Kurotsuchi got her brain back into working mode and paid him back in the only way she could think of. Shock molded into rage and finally burst out of the little girl, so suddenly that even their teacher could not intercept in time.

"AAARGH!"

And for a second time this morning, Naruto got punched in the face and was sent flying into the closest wall like a sack of potatoes.

The remaining students slowly looked from the pissed off girl to the knocked out blonde on the floor to their teacher who was just as stunned as they were and finally back to the girl, in hopes that she was stable enough to not lash out at anyone else.

One thing was for certain – their time at the Academy would turn out way more interesting and probably dangerous than they would have ever imagined.

 _ **To be continued**_

 **And with that the "Rookie Nine" introduction part is done. Sai will not be replacing Naruto in the genin teams, I have other plans regarding the last member which shall be revealed in the next chapter. But of course you can put your guesses on who it might be in the reviews, whoever calls it right will get a huge shoutout.**

 **In order for my story to work out nicely I have to make some changes regarding the age of a few characters and the time certain events take place. I will try my best to keep it limited and within reason.**

 **Feel free to let me know your honest opinion about this chapter in a review, it helps me improve my writing and motivates quite a lot. I will try to update once per week. Also vote for Naruto´s Kekkei Genkai/Tōta in case you haven't done it yet.**

 **Kekkei Genkai/Tōta Voting  
**

 **Jinton/Dust: 9 votes  
Mokuton/Wood: 8 votes  
Shakuton/Scorch: 5 votes**

 **I narrowed it down to three choices as the other two didn't receive much love. It is a close call so far; I am pretty excited to see which ability will eventually come out on top.**


	3. Rising Shadows

**Naruto: The Next Tsuchikage**

Disclaimer: I still don't own the Naruto Universe. Any similarities to other fanfictions are not on purpose. Please enjoy the third chapter of my first Naruto story.

 **Review Reply:** Thank you guys and girls so much for that many reviews, I am glad you like my story so far. Let me once again answer some reasonable points that were brought up as best as I can. Five feels like the right number, if you are not included there is always a next time.

 _ **Shiroyasha Gin-San:**_ I am trying to avoid most of the overused clichés, but sometimes it cannot be helped. Check the Council meeting out for yourself and let me know your thoughts on it.

 _ **B-Knoght:**_ Good point that I may not have fully thought through as I wrote it. Let´s just say that Ōnoki had to tell the higher up ninjas about Naruto´s heritage as the boy turned out to look like a miniature Minato, so that Naruto receives better protection from both inside and outside threats. I may put a more detailed explanation into the next chapter if this aspect is really bothering you.

 _ **Brodylopa:**_ I already took an absence from writing once and really regret it by now, so don't worry about me quitting. The story is planned out until the end of the Chunin Exams so far along with several ideas on how to go on from there. Also check out my notes at the very end if you want to know more about the pairing.

 _ **Radical Dreamer 57:**_ Wow, that's what I call critics done right. Thank you for pointing out my grammar mistakes, I made the corrections. Whether a Kekkei Genkai makes Naruto too OP or not always depends on the power scaling as a whole and I will try my best to keep it balanced. I´m sorry that you felt the Sasuke part was pointless, but I had to introduce the Rookie Nine sooner or later anyway. Blame it on my love for world-building.

 _ **R3d-Ga1ns:**_ While I love Ice Release too, I had to make the cut somewhere and simply had more ideas on how to work with the selected abilities in the overall storyline. Maybe next time, I hope you will still give my story a chance regardless.

And now on with the show! _Transition no Jutsu!_

 **Chapter 3 – Rising Shadows**

Hiruzen absently puffed his pipe while eying at the black-haired shinobi who stood in front of his desk. It was not every day that he would talk so personally with one of his ANBU members, but something told him this meeting was vitally necessary. You simply could not lead a major village like Konoha without developing a sixth or even seventh sense for what was currently going on in the shadows, behind the facade of peace and success.

The ninja in front of him wore a high-collared outfit in dark colors, typical attire for an Uchiha. He had short unkempt hair and black eyes. A tantō was strapped over his right shoulder, the preferred weapon of many ANBU agents. He looked fairy young, about 14 years old, but age was largely irrelevant in this sort of business. It was the skill that mattered and this particular shinobi had a waste amount of it.

"You went through quite some effort to gain this private meeting with me. I therefore deduct that whatever it is you want to discuss must not only be highly important, but also very sensitive."

"Your assumptions are correct as always, Hokage-sama."

"Then tell me, Shisui, what exactly is it that weights so heavily upon your shoulders?"

"Permission to speak freely, Hokage-sama?"

"Permission granted."

"I recently discover that the Uchiha clan is planning a coup d'état against our village."

If Hiruzen was shocked by this revelation, he hid it well. Silence fell between the two of them as they simply watched one another, trying to figure out each other´s thoughts. Taking his time and several puffs from his pipe, Hiruzen eventually started to speak again.

"Assuming that your accusation is true, why are you revealing this knowledge to me, therefore betraying your own clan?"

"I am very proud of being an Uchiha and agree with the other members that the villagers are not trusting us the way they should do. It is fairly obvious that there are still many people out there who suspect us to be somehow responsible for the Kyuubi attack."

Pausing, Shisui soon received a short nod which issued him to continue on.

"But no matter what, the clan can never be more important than the village. We are all shinobi of the Hidden Leaf with the duty to serve Konoha and if is necessary lay down our live to ensure the future of our village. I cannot turn a blind eye towards a major threat, even if this threat is coming from within my very own clan."

"An admirable resolution you have there, Shisui. If only all of my ninjas would think like that."

"Thank you, Hokage-sama."

"Please tell me everything you know about this coup. Every detail you can remember could be used to save innocent lives, always assuming that you are indeed telling the truth."

"Fugaku as well as many other clan members have grown really angry about the fact that we do not get more recognition from the villagers. The Uchiha clan co-founded Konoha together with the Senju Clan, we possess an incredible viable Kekkei Genkai in form of the Sharingan and are constantly fighting to protect the village with all our might. But despite all this we are not fully trusted, we have to face off in a power struggle against the Hyūga clan as they are trying to undermine our influence and even our clan compound is pretty much isolated from the rest of the village."

Hiruzen nodded sadly. Everything so far was true. It was actually his own sensei Tobirama Senju who had rearranged the compounds during his reign as Second Hokage in order to secretly put the Uchiha under quarantine.

"Fugaku is also very annoyed that up until now not a single Hokage hailed from our clan even though we are co-founders and provide some of the strongest ninjas of the entire village, not to forget that over time more and more privileges were taken away from us by the village in order to keep us under better control. We may be head of the Police Force in name, but everyone knows it is just an excuse so that we have to report on a regular basis and stay neutral in important cases."

Another nod. Having the truth laid out like that was pretty painful. Konoha had really mistreated the Uchiha clan over time. Why exactly did he allow that to happen? Had he been too afraid to reverse wrong decisions of his predecessor? Had he been naïve enough to think that the proud Uchiha clan would just sit still and continue to take the blows for eternity? Hiruzen couldn't help but question how much of this development was actually his very own fault.

"Many clan members believe by now that our former leader Madara Uchiha was right with his suspicion that the creation of Konoha was just a sorry excuse to cement the superiority of the Senju clan above us. They think that because the last remaining true member of the Senju clan in form of your former student Tsunade has left Konoha many years ago, leaving only the Uchiha as founders who still live in the village, that we should therefore finally take the place we deserve as the rulers of Konoha. Given the major distrust it is very unlikely that the population would accept us as their new leaders willingly so Fugaku has started to slowly but surely gather support inside our clan and is currently planning out a coup d'état."

Hiruzen took some more puffs from his pipe to prepare himself for the one crucial question that was lingering on his mind. He was convinced by now that Shisui was telling the truth, which forced him to ask, regardless of how much the answer might hurt him.

"What role does Itachi play in all of this? Is he aware that his father plans on going against the village?"

"Itachi knows about the plan, but just like me he doesn't agree with it."

Hiruzen let out a breath of relief. At least things weren't quite as bad as he had feared. Itachi was the most promising ninja of Konoha and could eventually – once he grew old and experienced enough – become an amazing Fifth Hokage.

"His behavior has changed over the last three months since he joined the ANBU. Our clan Elders are growing suspicious and have ordered me to monitor him. To be honest, I hope I can gain his support and that together we can come up with a counter-measure to stop the coup in its tracks. Itachi is a very smart and loyal shinobi."

"Indeed" Hiruzen agreed with a small smile. "Is there anything else you want to add?"

"No, Hokage-sama. That is all the information I possess at this point in time."

"Would you like me to place you onto a different squad to make things easier?"

"No, Hokage-sama. That could raise unnecessary suspicion. I feel fine with my current team."

"Then I thank you in the name of Konohagakure for the information you revealed today and wish you all the best for your next missions. Do not think for even a moment that I don't realize the danger you are putting yourself in by doing what you just did."

"It is my duty to protect the village, Hokage-sama."

"If only all Uchiha members would share your mindset, Shisui."

"What do you intend to do now, if I am allowed to ask so, Hokage-sama?"

"You will see what I do when I do it, Shisui. That is all I can say right now."

"Understood, Hokage-sama."

"Is there anything else you want to talk about?"

"No, Hokage-sama, there isn't."

"Then this meeting is officially over. Dismissed."

And with that Shisui disappeared in a silent shunshin while Hiruzen slumped back into his chair, exhaustion spreading all over his wrinkled face. Just as he thought Konoha was finally back on track and looking into a brighter future, it had to turn out one of their most important clans was planning a rebellion. Bloody great.

And to top it all off, Danzō had for some reason requested a Council meeting for the upcoming afternoon. Hiruzen wondered what crazy scheme the old war hawk could have probably pulled out of his bandages this time. He would definitely not tell them about the coup without examining the situation personally beforehand. But either way, he was not looking forward to the meeting at all.

0 – 0 – 0

Ōnoki glared dangerously at his secretary as she slowly cracked open the door to his office. If she would dare to bring him any more paperwork, he might as well disintegrate his entire desk. It wouldn't be the first time over his long carrier.

"Tsuchikage-sama, Deidara-san has arrived to discuss the results of the Chūnin Exams."

His mood lifted up instantly. That´s right, he was waiting for the 10-year-old prodigy to show up so he could give the boy the promotion he deserved. Deidara had wrecked the competition in the final round with the use of his Kekkei Genkai. It had been a very proud moment for the whole village.

"All right, send him in."

The door opened fully and a few moments later a young shinobi with slanted blue eyes stepped in. He wore a blue and grey kimono jacket over a fishnet undershirt and khaki pants. His blond hair was drawn in a half ponytail with the rest hanging freely over his left eye. The boy currently seemed busy forming a life-sized spider out of white clay.

Ōnoki couldn't help but sign. Deidara was such a promising shinobi but as with all geniuses there had to be some sort of catch. In this case it was his annoying obsession with clay sculptures – or what the kid himself proclaimed to be "Art".

Deidara finally looked up and realized that the Tsuchikage was expecting him to pay attention to the real important things that were going on. With a sheepish laugh the blonde quickly slipped the spider into his weapons pouch and stood straight.

Ōnoki didn't even feel the need to comment on that. Instead he took the correct evaluation paper from his desk and went directly over to business.

"Congratulations, Deidara. After your outstanding performance in the final round of the Chūnin Exams hosted in Kumogakure, I am happy to announce that you got officially promoted. From this day forward, you will serve our village as a chūnin."

"Thank you very much, Tsuchikage-sama. I will do my best to show you I am indeed worthy of this promotion, un."

"Now that you have reached the rank of chūnin, you can also officially join the Bakuha Butai and use your talents to the fullest capabilities."

"The Bakuha Butai" Deidara repeated in bliss. Ever since it was confirmed that he possessed the Kekkei Genkai Bakuton it was his dream to join this particular organization. "Finally! Thank you, Tsuchikage-sama."

"I have already registered you as their newest member, so please report in as soon as possible and receive your initiation."

"Understood, Tsuchikage-sama."

"That is all for now. Dismissed."

Ōnoki grabbed some other documents on his desk that he still had to work on and started to read through them. It took him a few seconds until he realized that the boy was actually still there.

„Is there anything else, Deidara?"

„To be perfectly honest, there is, Tsuchikage-sama."

Ōnoki raised his eyebrows in slight confusion. He could name nothing on the top of his head that could be an issue here. What was going on?

"All right, then talk" he ordered harshly and laid the documents back down.

"The Chunin Exams were absolutely amazing! I saw so many innovative and unique Jutsu and fighting styles, it was really like a gigantic piece of art. So inspiring, un!"

"And?" Ōnoki inquired quite annoyed.

"Having seen all these innovative techniques, I wish that I could create a unique fighting style based on my clay figures. I wish more than anything that there would be a way how I can infuse my clay with charka and use it successfully in battle. That would allow me to become the greatest artist of all time, un."

"Sorry to disappoint you but this will have to remain a dream, Deidara."

"Really?" the blonde moaned disappointed. "Come on, Tsuchikage-sama, there has to be some way to make it happen. I knew right away that if anyone can help me in that matter, it would be you. That is exactly why I am here. Please share your wisdom with me so that I can become the greatest artist ever and bring eternal glory upon Iwagakure, un."

The Tsuchikage did not like the direction this was going. Was that boy seriously asking for help to create explosive clay? He had to shut down this idea immediately. It was going way too deep into the area of forbidden jutsu.

"Trust me, this is no skill worth going after. Now focus on your new job at the Bakuha Butai and we forget this conversation ever happened."

The irritated blonde was now visible growing mad. Was his request so wrong? After seeing so many crazy stuff during the Chūnin Exams, he was convinced that this unique fighting style could indeed be realized in one way or another. He would not let go of it so easily.

"If you refuse to help me, then I guess I have no choice but to figure it out myself, un."

"Watch your tongue, Deidara" Ōnoki hissed dangerously. If any other shinobi would be opposing him like this, that guy would be facing severe punishment by now. But Deidara was an exception. He was a young genius who still had to learn the limits of what couldn't and shouldn't be done. It would be a massive loss for the village to waste such a promising talent so carelessly. Taking a deep breath, Ōnoki tried one last attempt to put the blonde´s head straight again.

"You are an excellent shinobi, but I strongly advise you to not follow the path that you currently see for yourself. Infusing inanimate objects that were not specifically designed for this purpose with charka is very dangerous. Even if such a jutsu exists in the first place, it would without a doubt be labelled as a forbidden kinjutsu. Do not try out any experiments with your clay or it will have severe consequences. Have I made myself clear?"

Deidara looked thoughtful for a moment, but his superior was not having any of that.

"Have I made myself clear, Deidara?" Ōnoki barked again, now losing his patience for real. The fresh chūnin gulped in fear, eventually realizing that he may have pushed the matter too far.

"Yes Tsuchikage-sama, of course, you are absolutely right" he replied hastily as sweat started to form on his forehead. "Thank you for enlightening me. I was not aware that my dream could only be archived through forbidden means. I can assure you that I will not go after it, un."

Ōnoki glared at him suspiciously, judging in his mind if the boy was actually speaking the truth or just throwing some empty words at him to lure him into a false sense of security. It was a very disturbing fact shared among the Hidden Villages that more often than not prodigies actually started walking down the wrong path at some point in time. Orochimaru and Sasori were just two recent examples on the ongoing list. He would need to have a closer eye on Deidara from here on out and increase the security standards for that specific area even more. Just in case.

"You are expected to report to the Bakuha Butai. I suggest you go before I overthink my decision to let you join. If you mention this conversation or that certain dream to anyone, I will personally drag your ass back to the Academy. Is that clear? Good. Dismissed."

"Understood, Tsuchikage-sama" Deidara replied as serious as he could, giving a salute with two fingers before disappearing in a shunshin.

But if anyone would have been able to check the boy´s mind, they would have realized that now most of his thoughts were focused on exploding clay figures more than ever – and the new fact that there had to be a forbidden jutsu somewhere which could make them reality.

0 – 0 – 0

"For today we have a special exercise prepared for you" the chūnin instructor explained as he led the group of first year students outside of the Academy. A mixture of both curious and nervous glances was exchanged between the children as they followed their teacher towards one of the basic training grounds of Iwagakure. Upon arrival many eyes grew exorbitantly large at the sight of two identical obstacle courses that were waiting for them.

"This parkour will test your overall physical abilities, stamina and willpower. A similar, but more difficult variation will be part of your exams, so please take this seriously. While I do not expect all of you to master this course on the first try, I would be very happy if you can prove me wrong on that one. And to motivate you even more, the three fastest students will earn extra credits for their physical prowess."

The reactions turned out to be pretty divers. While the clan children were excited for this chance to show off their supreme skills, the civilian part of the class had doubtful expressions upon their faces, some even outright fear of failure. If this was their very first parkour, then what would the future ones evolve into?

Staring with a basic 200-meter run the first obstacle along the way was a curved rope-net wall the students had to climb up. After reaching the top their next challenge was to cross over a large pile of mud by using the mounted monkey bars. From the last bar the students then had to swing themselves into a long rectangular pool of ice water and swim to the other side only to face another wall, this time it was a straight one with a single thick rope hanging down to assist them in the climbing. And as if that wasn't enough, the follow-up exercise was crawling under barbed wire over a grassy field right before the course ended with a 100-meter sprint towards the finish line. Because the two courses were mirrored, they would meet up eventually in the center so that there was only one combined finish line for both, allowing a direct competition between the participants.

"Everyone who manages to complete this course will gain the right to use it for further training over the next month. It will be opened every day after the end of regular classes until nightfall. You simply have to register by the supervising chūnin so that we staff members can have an eye out for you and unnecessary accidents can be avoided. Unregistered usage of the parkour will lead to a permanent ban if the student is caught so don't even think about it."

He paused for a moment, allowing the information to sink in.

"To ensure every student is able to try out the parkour at least once, we had to set the time limit for each participant to a maximum of 20 minutes. If you are unable to complete the entire course during this period of time, you will get the chance to try again tomorrow."

He paused again, only to hear a noticeable gulp coming from several students.

"You can also tag out at any point if you feel that you don't possess the strength or skill to carry on. But be aware that willpower is a very important attribute of every ninja and once you decide to quit, you will be barred from using the course as a training opportunity until I am convinced you are ready for it."

Another pause, the first few civilian children were turning slightly green by now.

"Once I call your name, please go to the starting line and prepare yourself in any way you seem appropriate. If you are called on an even number, use the parkour on the right side, those with uneven numbers go to left. The first person obviously constitutes as number 1. Both participants will start at the same time and only on my signal. No worries, I will of course pair you up based to the skill level I could observe so far to keep the direct competitions as fair as possible."

With all the explanations done, the first two students were quickly called up. Their teacher made sure to start off with clan children skilled enough to make it through without bigger problems, so that the civilian portion could see how to overcome each obstacle before they were forced to do it themselves.

His prediction held true, not every student managed to beat the entire course, but in all honestly the class as a whole was clearly above average, which pleased the instructor nonetheless. Just as usual he kept the best for last and after what felt an eternity, Naruto and Kurotsuchi were finally allowed to go at it.

Their rivalry was already well known throughout the entire Academy. Needless to say that it turned into an absolutely fierce duel right from the start. Both were about equal when it came to raw speed and strength, and while Naruto had the upper hand in terms of stamina and durability, Kurotsuchi was able to compensate for that with her outstanding flexibility and willpower.

The two upstarts mercilessly fought their way through the parkour as if they had already done it a dozen times. It even seemed like they were more focused on besting each other in every possible way than simply moving past the obstacles in the first place. After only a couple of minutes, both had beaten the entire course and rushed neck to neck at full speed over the finish line.

Panting heavily, the duo looked questionable at their instructor, desperate to hear who had won this self-declared race. The chūnin was thinking for a moment to decide on how to honestly break the news to them before coming up with an appropriate line.

"Sorry to disappoint you, but for all I could see this was an obvious tie, I guess you have to try even harder next time."

Both stared at him in disbelief right before collapsing on the ground in exhaustion.

"Don't be down, after all you two managed to archive second place when it comes to finishing the course as quick as possible, which means extra credits for the both of you."

This made the two winded students perk up with sudden interest. They were used to sharing the top spot in class and didn´t hold back at all during this parkour, so why did the teacher just say second place? There was no one who could have possibly beaten their time, right?

"You have to be kidding me…" Kurotsuchi began, still panting heavily.

"That doesn't make sense…" Naruto continued slowly while trying to catch his own breath.

"If we only got second place…" Kurotsuchi pressed out, looking at her blonde rival.

"… then who is actually Number 1?" Naruto finished their ultimate question.

"Haven´t you paid enough attention?" the instructor cut in, clearly amused by their stunned faces. "Akatsuchi set the best time for today. But don't freak out too much, he was only about three seconds faster than you two."

Of course. That explained everything. How could they have forgotten about Akatsuchi? Unlike prejudiced assumptions, the largest boy of their class was also physically the fittest and strongest. He may not have shown as much all-around skills as Naruto and Kurotsuchi so far, but nobody could deny that Akatsuchi possessed outstanding potential as well and was the only one in class who could fight them on equal terms in a taijutsu spar.

Together the three of them would probably be an unstoppable force when compared to the rest of their age group. But that particular topic would not become relevant for at least another couple of years. All of them still had a long way to go.

0 – 0 – 0

Once again, Hiruzen looked over his desk into the expecting faces of his three advisors. These Council meetings were really happening too often for his liking nowadays. He had a vary feeling in his stomach, something was up for sure. But before that, like every time, he had to deliver the latest news regarding their still ongoing search for Naruto Uzumaki. Which was not very much.

"I received a new report from Jiraiya earlier today" he announced quietly.

"Good, so he has finally found Naruto?" Koharu asked with the tiniest bits of hope in her voice.

"Can he retrieve him alone or shall we dispatch a team for assistance?" Homura added in quickly.

Hiruzen shook his head with a grim expression. "I am sorry to disappoint you, but we still have no idea of Naruto´s current whereabouts." Their faces fell immediately. Only Danzō seemed calm as ever, not reacting at all, as if he had known beforehand what was coming.

"Jiraiya informed me that he had searched all over the Land of Lightning once more but again didn't find not a single clue. His next target will be the Land of Earth. We can only hope that he has better luck there."

"This cannot go on forever, Hiruzen" Homura voiced his concern. "Even though no other village has made any moves yet, it is only a matter of time until they figure out that Konoha is no longer in possession of the Kyuubi and then an attack is imminent."

"We need a strong Jinchūriki in our ranks to maintain the balance of power between the five great Hidden Villages" Koharu continued on. "We gave Jiraiya more than enough time to bring Naruto back, but without results we cannot allow this to continue on any longer."

"What do you mean by that?" Hiruzen inquired carefully. He had a pretty good idea of what his advisors had planned out and didn't like it one bit. The problem at hand was that he was lacking the arguments required to talk them out of this. After all they were having a fair point. Konoha always came first.

"Well Hiruzen, you see…" Homura started, but one intense glare of the Hokage was enough to shut him up. Despite his growing age, Hiruzen still maintained his overwhelming aura that pressed down on the Council members like an immense invisible weight on their shoulders.

Silence spread across the room as the Hokage was waiting for one of his advisors to continue on, if they had the guts. He could see the sweat forming on both Homura´s and Koharu´s forehead. It was pretty clear that they were waiting for a certain bandaged troublemaker to support them and after what felt like a small eternity, their wish was eventually granted.

"What he was trying to say" Danzō took over in his stoic voice "is that we need a loyal Jinchūriki in our ninja ranks and we need it now. If Naruto still cannot be found after all these years, we have to look for other ways in order to restore the balance of power. I am sure you know exactly what we are talking about, Hiruzen."

Of course he knew. He was actually surprised that they had not brought this up much sooner. But that still didn't mean he would agree with their scheme. Taking a puff from his pipe to release some of the tension, the Third Hokage spoke out loud what was already on everyone´s mind.

"You want me to authorize the kidnapping of a foreign Jinchūriki."

"It is necessary to ensure the safety of Konoha" Koharu reasoned quickly.

"And how do you think we can pull this off without throwing the world into yet another war?" Hiruzen asked curiously. "The moment we go after a Jinchūriki from another village, we reveal to everyone that there is something big going on behind the scenes. Whether they assume we have lost the Nine-Tails or are trying to strengthen our military to take over the other nations is largely irrelevant. The other Hidden Villages will not simply sit still and watch us collecting Jinchūrikis. They would see it as an act of aggression and respond appropriately. We still have not fully recovered from the Nine-Tails attack. We would not survive a war of that caliber."

"It doesn't have to end up like that" Danzō pointed out with a sinister smile. "There is one option that would allow us to obtain a powerful Jinchūriki without significant repercussions. You know that as well as I do, don't you?"

Hiruzen´s eyes widened in shock. Was Danzō really implying that they should… There was no way he would allow Konoha to stoop that low…

"You can´t be serious. We cannot betray our allies like that, I will not stand for this."

"We don't have another choice, Hiruzen" Koharu uttered with a sad smile. "I despise that action as much as you, but the village always comes first. We have to force Takigakure to hand over the Nanabi as compensation for maintaining an alliance with us."

"The alliance is up for negotiations in three months from now" Homura added in. "All we have to do is present an offer so beneficial that they cannot refuse. Taki relies much more on this alliance than Konoha."

"Do you have any idea how much we would need to offer for Shibuki to ever consider handing over the Nanabi? The beast is sealed inside of a young girl named Fū and he is very protective of her ever since he took over as the new village leader. Even if I would agree with your plan, which I don't, there is no way Taki would give up their Jinchūriki without a fight."

"I disagree" Danzō cut in. "From what my sources have told me, that girl is feared and hated by the villagers just as much as every other Jinchūriki around the world. Shibuki is the only one who treats her with respect and if it weren't for him, she would have been chased out of Taki long ago. So I don't think that it would be too difficult for us to talk the village into agreement."

"The people might fear the girl because of the Tailed Beast inside of her, but at least the shinobi portion is well aware of how important a Jinchūriki is for the overall power structure of their village. And we are not negotiating with the villagers themselves, we negotiate with Shibuki and as I already pointed out, he will never agree to this request."

"Everyone can be forced into agreement" Danzō sneered. "You only have to put enough pressure on them. And by the time the negotiations take place, Shibuki will be in so much debt to Konoha that he will happily agree to anything we ask from him."

Hiruzen´s face hardened to a whole new degree at the words of his old rival. "Just what exactly have you planned out in the shadows, Danzō?"

"We are all aware that Takigakure is built around a giant tree which once every hundred years is producing the prized Hero Water. This unique liquid is able to grant any ninja at least a ten-fold increase of charka in exchange for a part of their lifespan. An extremely valuable item and a dangerous weapon when in the wrong hands."

The Hokage simply nodded, issuing Danzō to continue. He could not see yet how Konoha would be able to take advantage of this event. But Danzō would never bring something like that up if he had not completely thought it through. There was more, a piece of information only the renown _Shinobi no Yami_ had.

"I know for a fact that in two months from now Shibuki´s former sensei Suien plans to team up with some shinobi from Amegakure in order to steal the precious Hero Water" his rival went on, quickly lightening things up. "Just what do you think would happen if a team of Konoha shinobi would _incidentally_ be around at that point to save the day? It would give us a huge favor that we can call in at a later time, for example at the negotiations three weeks later."

And there it was. The plan on how to blackmail Shibuki into agreement and obtain the Nanabi. Just as cunning as you would expect it from Danzō himself.

"So what do you think of it?" Koharu asked carefully.

Hiruzen´s face turned into an expressionless mask as he took in all information and played out the possible scenarios in his mind. Silence spread out once again as the advisors waited for him to express an opinion. The tension was rising, up to the point where you could basically cut it with a kunai.

Even Danzō knew better than to press the matter any further. He has laid out his scheme and now he had to see what it was worth. The Hokage may dislike many of his plans, but was well aware that from time to time these dirty deeds were necessary to ensure the further prosper of Konoha. It was the main reason why Danzō was still able to run his officially banned Root organization without major interference or consequences.

Hiruzen himself was conflicted. He had to admit that the plan was pretty formidable, but in terms of morals straight up wrong in so many ways. Setting up their long-term ally Takigakure like that was a low blow. Could he really justify this course of actions? Was Konoha so desperate to take a young girl away from her home so she could act as their new weapon?

The minutes dragged on until he finally responded with a very vague "I will think about it in private…"

But in the very moment these words left his mouth Hiruzen already knew that this scheme would be carried out. And his Council members knew it as well. It was just too beneficial to be denied. Konohagakure needed a new Jinchūriki and they would get it. No matter how despicable their actions would turn out to be – the village always came first!

 _ **To be continued**_

 **I have absolutely no clue if the parkour sounds realistic or not, I just really wanted to include such a scene to expand more on the ninja training and growing rivalry. I apologize in advance that this chapter focuses so little on Naruto, I will try my best to flesh our main characters out soon. I already realized that I may enjoy world-building a little too much…**

 **I guess it should also be clear after this chapter who Naruto´s replacement will be in the "Rookie Nine", right?**

 **Feel free to let me know your honest opinion about this chapter in a review, it helps me improve my writing and motivates quite a lot. Also give your votes to the following topics.**

 **1\. Kekkei Genkai Voting** **  
** **This is the last chance to vote in case you haven't, it seems that many people want to see Mokuton as it makes the most canon sense, if this turns out to be the final result I can promise to power scale it properly in order to not let Naruto become too OP too soon. I am no fan of godlike main characters unless it comes to Saitama.  
 _Current Votes: Mokuton 17_** _ **Jinton 14 Shakuton 7**_

 **2\. Naruto Pairing Voting** **  
I originally planned a much larger voting for this topic, but as I already got several requests to make this into Naruto x Kurotsuchi, I will cut it short here: Kurotsuchi or** **Fū? Depending on how clear the outcome will be, I may not continue this voting over several chapters but fix the pairing straight away.**

 **3\. Battle of Taki Voting** **  
Honestly I am not the biggest fan of the Naruto OVAs. Would you prefer to actually see the Battle of Taki take place or not? So far I have only written the aftermath. Let me know as it would greatly affect the upcoming chapters.**

 **Thank you all and I hope you enjoyed my story so far. The stage is now prepared for the world to shake up big time.**


	4. Quick Update on Chapter 4

**Naruto: The Next Tsuchikage**

Disclaimer: I still don't own Naruto – as much as I would love to!

 **Quick Update on Chapter 4**

I didn't plan on doing this, but I really wanted to reassure all of you that the missing forth chapter will come up soon and that you don't have to worry about me quitting the story or anything like that.

Life decided to be a b*tch again and screwed me over big time. As I am still studying abroad right now it was more difficult and time consuming for me to solve these issues, but it finally looks like I was able to sort it all out.

I only have certain scenes prewritten, not entire chapters, and simply could not spare enough time until now to give Chapter 4 the finishing touch. I hope at least some of you can understand that and managed to survive these two weeks without a new addition to my story.

I will replace this particular update with the real chapter as soon as possible and try my best to continue my own schedule of one chapter per week from there. Your reviews are motivating me a lot, please keep it up.

 **Voting Results**

As most of you are not interested in a full Battle of Taki, I will only put in as much information about it as necessary for the progress. You will see it for yourself in the real chapter.

The Kekkei Genkai Voting is still open, with Mokuton being in a narrow lead against Jinton. The current standing is **23 – 21**. I am really astounded by how close it is and guess I have no choice but let it continue for another week. It seems like I am not the only one torn between what would fit best here.

Finally, the Pairings Voting had a very clear winner in Kurotsuchi and she was quite happy about that result. Unfortunately, Fū didn´t like it at all when I broke the news to her. I am afraid that she might still go after Naruto either way once I allow them to meet. And that makes me even more worried now for the safety of Konoha. I mean, the Kyuubi attack was one thing, but the wrath of a full blown jealous Kurotsuchi? God forbid!

 **Stay tuned for Chapter 4 – Fateful Negotiations!**


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